The linebacker and special teams player from Grand Valley State and Flint Carman-Ainsworth, who signed a two-year contract last week with the San Francisco 49ers, has a lot to do before he can join his new team.

In the next three weeks, he plans to leave his training regimen in Tampa, visit family in Flint, clean out his apartment in Cincinnati and find a place to live in San Francisco.
The 49ers start offseason workouts April 15, and Skuta said he wants to be there at least a week ahead of time.

“I’m excited,” he said. “It’s really different. I’ve never really spent time in California, so there’s a lot to learn.”

The 6-foot-2, 250-pound Skuta, who played the past five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, primarily as a special teams ace, signed Thursday with the 49ers.

Skuta said the 49ers showed interest from the beginning.

“There were a few other teams, from what my agent said, but I don’t know how many were really in depth,” Skuta said. “But the 49ers came after me from the beginning, said they liked me since Grand Valley days, and it just felt like the right fit, the right place to be.”

Skuta, 26, has played 56 career games, made four fill-in starts and played 319 snaps at inside linebacker. In 2010, he also moonlighted for 14 snaps as a blocking fullback for the Bengals, a role he occasionally assumed at Grand Valley State.

Last season he played in all 16 games and had 26 tackles.

At Grand Valley from 2005-08, Skuta was a first-team NCAA Division II All-American in 2008 before being signed by the Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2009.

The Lakers went 51-2 during his four years and won two national titles.

Given their similar pedigree (small college, undrafted, resembles The Blue Collar Guy from central casting), Skuta has been compared to Bears special-teams dynamo Blake Costanzo, who starred with the 49ers in 2011.

A key difference: Skuta offers more versatility than Costanzo, who left the 49ers without receiving a contract offer last year.

Skuta, 26, has made four fill-in starts during his four-year career and played 319 snaps at inside linebacker. In 2010, he also moonlighted for 14 snaps as a blocking fullback for the Bengals, a role he occasionally assumed at Grand Valley State.

He's an average athlete that can get caught in space or in coverage, but he's a sound tackler that will stick his nose in any pile. Skuta doesn't have any winning pass rush moves, but again, effort was always there. His true value is as a special teams ace. He'll play every situation and you'll almost never hear his number called after the play for a penalty.